


Though this be madness

by Dahlia_Moon



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Awkward, F/M, Ficlet, Future Fic, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-24
Updated: 2011-10-24
Packaged: 2017-10-24 22:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Moon/pseuds/Dahlia_Moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I mean – we've been doing this far too long to pretend it only means a quick lay when one of us can't get the itch scratched."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Though this be madness

"Would you consider-" and Eli can't finish the sentence, _doesn't_ even know how that sentence should be finished.

"What? You want to make an honest woman out of me?" Kate drapes the purple silk sheet over her bare shoulders, walking into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Eli lies back on the pillows and thinks. Marriage is alright for some people – like Teddy and Billy, who, even after all these years, seem to live out of each other's pockets – but for others, it's a train-wreck. He firmly believes that he and Kate belong to the latter category. Of course they haven't been married yet – not to each other or anyone else for that matter – so the theory is purely hypothetical at this point.

But it's hard to not think about the what- ifs when two of your closest friends are getting married and you look over at your best friend with benefits, lying naked under the covers beside you, and can't help but imagine marrying her.

He supposes other people have had better epiphanies while being naked.

~*~

Kate keeps looking at him all through dinner, like he's gonna grow an extra head or something and she wants to be prepared for it.

"Were you serious this morning?" she asks.

Eli shrugs. Kate is one of his oldest and dearest friends. The fact that they sometimes end up in bed together is one of those things they don't talk about and that suits them just fine. "I mean – we've been doing this far too long to pretend it only means a quick lay when one of us can't get the itch scratched." He doesn't look at Kate. It's best that way. But he hears her chair scrape against the floor and he's ready to say goodbye to the best thing that's ever happened to him relationship-wise. He expects her to throw him out, so it's quite surprising when she comes closer to him and kneels by his chair.

She throws her arms around his neck, seeking his gaze with hers. "Did you just profess your feelings for me?"

Kate seems surprised herself.

"I guess I did."

"Good. I feel the same, by the way."

And really, there's only one thing Eli can do. He lifts Kate up into his lap and gives her the fullest kiss he can give.

**Author's Note:**

> I keep thinking about future fic for the YA and while I'm all for Teddy & Billy getting married, I'm not sure if Kate and Eli are the marrying type. (Heh, I guess it's a moot point because in my head they are already married.) I guess these are the kinds of thoughts I have at 4 am when I should be sleeping.
> 
> Title comes from _Hamlet_ by Shakespeare.


End file.
